Spring,
2000
Reprinted from the Monolithic
Dome Roundup, Spring 2000 Issue
[ Frederick L. Crandall, Architect | From Internet Research to Dome Home | Monolithic Rentals | Underground Home | Workshop Friendship | Global Dome Homes' First Dome Project in Honduras | Full Moon Construction | Island Retreat | Media Coverage | Ray Ansel, War Bonnet Construction, Soldotna, Alaska | Underground Shelters | DOMTEC International, LLC. | MDI Growth Brings Change Dome Technology | New! Monolithic SC3 ]
Rick Crandall consulted on several projects now underway:
In Birmingham, Alabama the largest, Monolithic Dome church to date, measuring 280' x 72 « ' with 61,575 square feet of floor space and seating for 3000, is now under construction for Faith Chapel Christian Center, with Lathan Architects of Homewood, Alabama and Dome Technology of Idaho Falls, Idaho.
In Mountainair, New Mexico the Mountainair School District recently witnessed the inflation of their Airform, 110' x 40', for a new school gymnasium. Construction by Dome Technology.
In Parkville, Missouri the first of two domes was inflated by Dome Technology for Donald J. Breckon Sports Center at Park College (Roundup Journal, Spring/Summer 1999, p. 14).
In Phoenix, Arizona site preparations are underway by Dome Technology, Inc. for a Monolithic Dome facility for Living Word Church.
In Houston, Texas under the management of Monolithic Constructors, Inc. of Italy, Texas, construction began on a dome for St. Agnes Church.
Crandall is also doing designs, consulting and/or feasibility studies for several other projects: A Monolithic Dome facility for Southwest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas is now in the design stage, with Shade O'Quinn of Shade Architects in Irving, Texas. This project includes three Monolithic Domes: an auditorium and various offices in a 240' x 60' structure with 45,900 square feet of floor area; a two-level gymnasium; a two-level education facility. A circular mall will connect the three domes and provide convenient access to all areas.
The Bishop Nevins School in Sarasota, Florida has contracted the architectural firm of Moreau & Associates in Gaitland, Florida, with consulting work by Crandall, for the design of a Monolithic Dome school.
The Hudson Valley Ice and Sports Arena of Buffalo, New York and Duncan Black, Architect contracted a feasibility study for a three-dome, ice sport recreational facility.
From Internet Research to Dome Home John and Lisa Ogden of Lakeside, California are beginning their 44-foot diameter dome for their 3-bedroom, off-grid home. When asked about their home site, Lisa explained, "Other than the obvious reasons of energy savings and safety from the elements, one of the reasons we chose a Monolithic Dome was because it blends into the surrounding environment of rocks. We live just outside an Indian reservation, so we are hoping the nearby Indians won't be bothered by the presence of our dome amidst the rocks."
John and Lisa did all of their research through the Internet. They found the Monolithic Dome Institute, other domes to visit in the nearby area, and their dome builder, Larry Myers of Idaho Falls, Idaho- all through extensive study of MDI's website.
Monolithic
Rentals David B. South is trying an experiment with several
small domes ranging in size from 192 to 492 square feet. David explains,
"There is a significant number of people, especially single women above
the age of 50 that simply need a safe, secure place to live that is affordable
without government subsidies." If the rental units in Italy, Texas fill
quickly and remain full, David plans on building thousands more to help
fill this need for single people.
Underground Home Glenn Young, a MDI workshop graduate, is currently finishing the interior of his 2,700 square-foot, 3 bedroom underground home in Texas. It consists of 5 interconnected Monolithic Domes. The home will include a meditation room, and every room will feature its own unique mural painting. The home is still in progress, but he is hoping for completion this spring.
Workshop Friendship Little did Andy and Debbie Barnes of Itasca, Texas know when they visited The Monolithic Dome Institute in January 1999 - a year later they would be in the final stages of building an Ariel III Monolithic Dome.
Andy attended the Monolithic Dome Builders Conference in March, 1999, where he became a dome enthusiast quickly and signed up for the October 1999 workshop. There he met workshop attendee Robert Foster of Elma, Washington. They became friends and decided to build the dome together.
Andy and Robert used their yearly vacation time beginning November 20 through January 9 to construct the dome on Andy's property, located in a gated community in Kingston, Oklahoma, just one mile from Lake Texoma.
They had to be very persistent in obtaining the needed permits. Andy started the process in the spring by submitting the feasibility study to an architectural review board. Some time later, they received bank approval and began building in November 1999. When vacation time expired, Andy returned to work in Texas leaving the remainder of the work to Robert Foster. When completed, the Ariel III will be a model home to show potential customers of their new dome building business, Alpha-Omega Constructors.
Global Dome Homes' First Dome Joe Gora, owner of Global Dome Homes, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, recently inflated the 42-foot Airform for the first Monolithic Dome home in Cobb County, Georgia. Gora, whose dome projects have been featured on home shows and at home improvement conventions says that Global Dome Homes are "where the Flintstones meet the Jetsons" and describes them as "ultra-modern interiors in a rock-solid structure."
Project in Honduras After spending time with Ray Ansel, working on Monolithic Dome projects, Mike and Karen Hines initiated a missionary project in Honduras that calls for the construction of 150 dome-like, hurricane-safe homes. Using Targhee Pumps available through the Monolithic Marketplace and a reusable, metal, Quonset hut form they spray with three inches of concrete, Hines and his crew have already completed three structures.
Full Moon Construction Tommy Lee Rector of Full Moon Construction Company built this Io 24 in Estill County, Kentucky as a rental unit. Completed in 1997, the dome, which Rector calls "The Fourth Little Pig's Home," created much interest and quickly found an occupant.
Island Retreat Don and Margie Koreen of Winnipeg, Canada are building two 24' x 17' EcoShells as a tropical, beach lot, retirement retreat on Cat Island in the Bahamas. The Koreens plan on using one of the domes for themselves and the other for either guests or as a rental. Each of the domes will have a sleeping loft in its back half and garage/storage areas under it. Shotcreting will be done by Conscious Construction, a Colorado dome builder. Don and Margie hope to have their first dome liveable by the end of this May, and then begin using it for six months of every year - the perfect way of coping with Canada's winters.
Media Coverage Renowned commentator, Paul Harvey recently talked about the benefits of Monolithic Domes on one of his national broadcasts (see President's Sphere, p. 30).
The American Farm Bureau Federation premiered their video "Agriculture-Beyond 2000," which included a segment on Monolithic Domes, at their annual, national convention in Houston, Texas.
Steve Yelle of Quantum Leap Productions of New York said that the company has produced a new television series called "Simply Living." Its season premier segment features the Monolithic Dome home of Gary E. Clark in Ann Arbor, Michigan (Roundup, Summer 1998, p. 10).
David B. South was guest speaker on three radio talk shows in Utah. In response to listener queries, he talked about the practicality and versatility of Monolithic Domes as vacation homes and as disaster-proof shelters. Visit our website - http://www.domebuilders.com
Ray
Ansel, War Bonnet Construction, Soldotna, Alaska
Ray Ansel, president of War Bonnet Construction, with Rick Crandall as
consultant, has four projects in various stages of development. The first
of these involves providing sheltering trail domes every ten to twenty
miles along the 1090-mile Iditarod Dog Sled Race Trail. The National Historic
Trail Committee, which recently accepted the Iditarod as a national historic
trail, is considering Ansel's proposal for this series of 12 ft. Monolithic
Domes and their transportation, by truck and barge to designated placement
sites.
After Alaska's Kenai Peninsula was buried by an avalanche and declared a national disaster area, developer Jonathan Kemp and Ray Ansel proposed the placement of Monolithic Dome caterpillars, 300 to 500 feet long, at avalanche-prone spots along the main highway. The domes would act as tunnels that would prevent an avalanche from totally obliterating major passageways. Both the Alaska Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the railroad are interested in this project.
Another Kemp-Ansel project centers about the design and development of a Monolithic Dome resort with accommodations, a restaurant and a variety of sports activities on a remote, currently uninhabited site on Grindall Bay, Prince of Wales Island. Because of this location's isolation, the elongated domes, which Ansel and Kemp call Space Capsules, necessitate transportation on specially designed barges.
In his fourth project, Ansel is working with the City of Valdez, Alaska on the design and construction of a Monolithic Dome recreational center with a Natatorium (indoor pool).
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Underground Shelters Bob Hendricks, owner of Dome Homes and Shelters in Yelm, Washington, reports that his company completed the construction of four monolithic dome underground emergency shelters in Thurston County, Washington. Since the domes are equipped with conduits for power and water hook-ups, storage units for food and emergency supplies, and bathrooms, each is completely habitable. Hendricks sprayed four inches of concrete on the inside of each Airform, left the Airform in place, and sprayed another four inches of concrete on its outside. Six to ten feet of earth cover the domes. A tunnel provides access to the dome's entrance - a watertight ship's door. Hendricks completed the first of these domes about eighteen months ago. He said, "The owners are really happy with it. A shelter they had before failed because of moisture damage. Not so with the EcoShells. We've had no problem with moisture or mold. I tell folks it's the strongest structure you can build."
DOMTEC International, LLC. This spring, DOMTEC International, LLC. of Idaho Falls, Idaho will construct two Monolithic Domes, each measuring 158' x 79' with a 5' stem wall, as a cement storage facility for Blue Circle Industries, a British company with US subsidiaries. Mike Hunter, president of DOMTEC International, said that these would be the second and third domes they built for Blue Circle Industries. The first was completed several years ago in Chile.
DOMTEC International will soon begin two other bulk storage projects: an 80' x 40' fertilizer storage dome for Verdegaal Brothers, Inc. of Hanford, CA; a 139' x 112' cement storage dome for Glen Falls/Lehigh Cement in Providence, RI.
Two recently completed projects soon scheduled for operation include: a tall dome silo for a cement import terminal operated by the Riverside Industrial Complex of Bristol, PA; a hemisphere dome, 165' x 82' as a gypsum storage facility for Allegheny Power of West Virginia.
MDI Growth Brings Change In December 1999, The Monolithc Dome Institute opened its doors to their new office facility.
"We simply were too crowded in our former office," says David South, Jr., Vice President of MDI. "But the great thing about having another building complex isw that it allows us to use our other office as the Workshop Training Center."
The complex consists of three domes: one 50-foot dome and two 40-foot domes. Generous windows span the front of the large, central dome providing a panoramic view of the Texas countryside. Ample space for future development surrounds the office complex, and a small courtyard at its center contributes a summertime lunching area. The domes' exteriors were recently coated with a special stucco mixture and will soon be painted.
Dome Technology Dome Technology of Idaho Falls, Idaho continues construction on the largest Monolithic Dome storage facility in Saudi Arabia for Saudi Cement. The project includes two domes: 165' x 82.5' and 138' x 89'.
In Clarkdale, AZ, Dome Technology is constructing the largest, Monolithic Dome clinker stroage in the Western Hemishpere for Phoenix Cement. The two domes at this facility measure 135' x 67' and 213' x 106.5'.
New! Monolithic SC3 Monolithic Constructors, Inc. just released a newly designed, heavy duty inflator fan. This rugged fan is designed for the serious dome builder. The Monolithic SC3 utilizes an industrial strength squirrel cage fan with a 3 horsepower motor. MDI has added an automatic pressure control known as a compensation gate which lets air out to maintain precise pressure control. Dome contractors will appreciate the fans ability to produce twice as much air volume as the smaller 1.5 hp Targhee inflator fan. $2279.00 Click Here to Order
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